Hot August Night.

 

Was behind right from the start again today. Tried to play catchup with the yard work, made some progress but was soaking wet by the time I quit at eleven. Took a shower and then sat down at the bench and tied more sulfurs. Didn't finish tying until almost noon, made sandwiches, loaded everything into the car and once again headed for Deposit, stopping to pick up a couple bags of ice along the way. 

Arrived at about 1:15 and found decent sulfurs at the grass island upstream from the Men's Club. There were enough rising fish to get me into my waders and out into the stream, which if nothing else offered relief from the heat. Spent time casting at the risers without even an acknowledgment that there was a fly on the end of my line. Tried the wonder fly in the same riff where just over a week ago I hooked six fish and had two refusals in twenty minutes of action. Today, fishing just as carefully, I got two refusals on the same fly. I wonder why.

Left the grass island at 3:30 with one rainbow. Drove up above the red barn and found quite a bit of unoccupied water. There were sulfurs hatching and cedar waxwings at work eating them on the fly. Landed another rainbow, a small brown and several yearlings as I worked my way back toward the car. When I got to the Stilesville parking lot I crossed over to the far side where anglers line up every day to fish the channel that runs along the far bank. It was probably around 6:00, when the sulfurs started their evening hatch and the river came alive with big trout. Cast at dozens of fish and would have done just as well if I'd fished without a fly, finally a 13 inch brown took pity on me and ate my sulfur. Never had one of the big fish even bother to come up and refuse it. 

Walked across the stream, got into the car and drove down to the red barn where there was but one angler casting in the fog. Joined him in the pool and fished from 7:30 until 8:45. Hooked and landed four fish out of the multitude of trout gulping sulfur duns. Was sure the last fish, (a nice 16 inch brown), was foul hooked as the fly I was watching had continued its merry way downstream after the rise, (was watching the wrong fly). 

The trout may enjoy eating the sulfurs, but they clearly do not like being hooked, they are beaten up and tired. Most anglers are frustrated with how hard it has become to get a trout to eat a sulfur. The fish in the rest of the system are well rested and ready to go. All we need are cooler water temps, wouldn't mind having to start a fire in the wood stove each morning if it meant we were having old time, cool August nights.   

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